Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Father, the Imperial Guard has entered Yuanzhou and Ji'an from Changsha. Currently, the central army has arrived at Wan'an (a county under Ji'an Prefecture), and the vanguard has reached Zaokou. Their intention to advance south along the Gan River and seize Ganzhou is very clear," Hu Shengzu, son of Hu Qitai and a military officer of the Central Battalion of the Imperial Guard, excitedly reported to his father in the Jiangxi Provincial Governor's Office in Ganxian County, Ganzhou Prefecture.

Like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, the young man was not intimidated by the sheer number of the supposedly million-strong Oirat army. Instead, he was eager to test his skills against the Oirat war god, a truly commendable display of courage! The "Iron City of Ganzhou," known for its invincible defenses, had a long history of defeating overwhelming odds. Jin Shenghuan, Wang Deren, and Li Chengdong, all renowned and formidable generals, had suffered crushing defeats beneath the walls of Ganzhou. The Mongols' archery and horsemanship were indeed superb, but could they possibly fly over the 13-mile-long, 20-foot-high city of Ganzhou, forged from molten iron?
"Have all the troops on the outskirts entered the city?" Hu Qitai glared at his son and suddenly asked.

"The garrison troops in Ningdu, Shicheng, Xingguo, Yudu, Ruijin, Huichang, Anyuan, Changning, Dingnan and other places have all been ordered to enter the city. Now, except for Xinfeng and Longnan counties and Nan'an prefecture, all the garrisons around Ganzhou have been concentrated in Ganxian. However..." Hu Shengzu hesitated.

Hu Qitai smiled. "But what? You and I are father and son, is there anything I can't ask?"

"I just don't understand why we have to give up the southern counties of Ganzhou? These southern counties are our link to Guangdong. If we lose these cities, we can only contact Guangdong through Nan'an Prefecture or via the Xinfeng River and Tao River in Xinfeng and Longnan counties. Wouldn't that be extremely inconvenient?" Hu Shengzu was very puzzled.

"Hehe, giving the southern counties to the Wei army will allow us to concentrate our forces to defend Ganxian, and it will also open a path for the Wei army to attack Guangdong. That old fox Shang Kexi, if he doesn't face a direct threat, why would he be willing to put in so much effort to reinforce us?" Hu Qitai stroked his beard and smiled.

Hu Shengzu suddenly realized, "Father is wise, I understand now!"

“You only know how to brandish swords and spears all day long. You can’t win a war by brute force alone. You should read some military books when you have time,” Hu Qitai advised his son.

"Father's words are right, I will definitely study hard from now on!" Hu Shengzu quickly agreed.

"Hmm," Hu Qitai nodded in satisfaction, then asked seriously, "Have the Jingnan and Pingnan vassal states responded?"

“Geng Jimao said that he was at war with the Zheng family in Taiwan and could not spare many troops. He could only send Lin Tianqing, the governor of Fujian, with 26,000 troops to come to the rescue. Shang Kexi said that he had ordered Shen Yongxing, the Duke of Xushun, and Lu Xingzu, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to lead 50,000 troops to come to the rescue. The two armies had just set off and it would take some time for them to arrive,” Hu Shengzu replied.

A few days ago, Li Shuotai, the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian, died, and Geng Jimao, the Prince of Jingnan, seized the opportunity to monopolize military power in Fujian. Emperor Wu Sangui of the Great Zhou Dynasty was uneasy and sent his trusted confidant, Lin Tianqing, the Governor of Yunnan, to succeed him as Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian, while Luo Sen, the Yunnan Provincial Treasurer, was promoted to Governor of Yunnan. Geng Jimao, who had long considered Fujian his own territory, was not one to be trifled with. Seeing Lin Tianqing's new arrival, he immediately harbored a desire to use him as a tool to kill him, ordering Lin Tianqing to lead the troops of Lin Junqi, Chen Hui, Wei Ming, and Weng Qiuduo from Tingzhou to relieve Ganzhou. Lin, Chen, Wei, and Weng were all surrendered generals from the Zheng family of Taiwan; although brave, they were not trusted, so they were simply sent away. Hearing Geng Jimao's order to lead troops to aid Ganzhou, Lin Tianqing, who was worried about having no troops at his disposal, readily accepted. He secretly reported the situation in Fujian to Wu Sangui while actively winning over his subordinate officers. Lin, Chen, Wei, and Weng were not doing well under Geng's control. Seeing Wu Sangui's growing power, they also wanted to curry favor with him, so for a time everyone was happy.

The situation in Guangdong was similar. Shang Zhixi, the Prince of Pingnan, was a cunning old fox who had long harbored ambitions to dominate Guangdong. However, Shen Yongxing, the Duke of Xushun stationed in Chaozhou, Lu Xingzu, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi who was close to Wu Sangui, and some separatist forces in Guangdong had always been obstacles to achieving this goal. Lu Xingzu was unconcerned, as he had almost no army besides his pitiful three thousand military officers. Shen Yongxing, on the other hand, had long held military power and had many generals. In addition, Liu Jinzhong, the General of Chaozhou, always listened to Wu Sangui; Xu Long, the General of the Chaozhou Navy, was a powerful figure in the Chenghai area of ​​Chaozhou, organizing local militias to resist bandits and pirates, and profiting from fishing and salt trade, making him a local strongman; Miao Zhixiu, the Left Vice Admiral of the Guangdong Navy, was a former subordinate of Li Zicheng, and after surrendering, he and Xu Long assisted Shang Kexi in suppressing the rebellion of Su Li, the General of Jieshiwei. Although these three were nominally under Shang Kexi's command, they were disobedient and were thus sent by His Highness Prince Pingnan to Ganzhou to die—no, to be rescued.

However, Shang Zhixi was far more cunning than Geng Jimao. Fearing that the entire 50,000-strong army would be subdued by Shen Yongxing, thus becoming an asset to him, he sent his generals Jie Shan and Tong Guoqing to accompany Shen Yongxing on the expedition to keep an eye on him. Jie Shan was originally a Manchu and held the official position of Vice Minister of War; Tong Guoqing came from the "Tong Half-Court" family, whose members had intermarried with the Qing emperors for generations. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the two of them joined Shang Kexi and became loyal dogs under the Pingnan vassal. After Shen Yongxing, Liu Jinzhong, Xu Long, and others left Chaozhou, the old fox immediately ordered Zhang Guoxun, the naval general who had defected to him, and Wang Chengye, the deputy general of Chaozhou, to take over the defense of Chaozhou.

"Well, the Wei army is said to number a million, but in my opinion, it's mostly around 500,000. Although they are numerous, many are surrendered soldiers and may not be willing to die for the Wei country. We have 60,000 soldiers under our command, plus the troops from the Pingnan and Jingnan vassal states, which together make over 100,000 troops. We also have the fortified city of Ganzhou to rely on. We may not lose this battle! Moreover, the daily food and supplies for 500,000 troops are enormous! As long as we hold our ground and do not engage in battle, the Wei army will naturally withdraw once their food supplies run out," Hu Qitai stated his battle strategy.

The admiral was right about one thing: there were indeed many surrendered soldiers in the Imperial Guard. For example, the 35,000 troops under General Liu Wenjin of Qiyang and General Cui Shilu of Yuanzhou, who served as the vanguard, were all surrendered soldiers. However, the admiral was wrong about another thing: although Generals Liu and Cui were surrendered, they were both willing to die for the Great Wei Kingdom. There was no other reason than that only by accumulating more military merits could newly surrendered soldiers gain a foothold in the court.

Liu Wenjin and Cui Shilu led their troops down the Gan River from Zaokou Town, where they encountered fierce resistance from 10,000 Wu troops under the command of guerrillas Chen Sulun and Zhang Sheguang in Wenzhen and Guiyuan. Eager to gain merit, the two generals urged their men to advance despite the arrows and stones. Outnumbered, the Wu army could not withstand the onslaught and was forced to retreat to Ganxian. Taking advantage of the situation, the two generals marched directly to the walls of Ganxian and set up camp. Simultaneously, they dispatched messengers to report to the Great Khan Lianhua, who was stationed in Wan'an County.

"So easily we've reached the walls of Ganxian? Why do scouts report that there are no other garrisons around Ganxian except for Xinfeng and Longnan counties and Nan'an Prefecture? What is Hu Qitai up to?" Despite the frequent reports of victories, the naturally suspicious Great Khan Lianhua showed no joy. Instead, he worried that the enemy might have some kind of conspiracy. After much deliberation, he decided to send Prince Zhao Biligendalai and the head of the Bukhara tribe, Sonam Tsering, with 20,000 cavalry and Generals Cao Chunzhong, Liu Hanchen, Xu Xueyi, Xiergen, Baitalazhi, and Zhao Yue's 50,000 infantry to attack Nan'an Prefecture and Xinfeng and Longnan counties, while he himself led the main army to Ganxian.

(End of this chapter)